Members of the school’s 1940s all-decade team were present before the game and honored in front of 1,610 at halftime. The current team was knocking on the door of some history of its own.

The Green Wave, thanks to a strong defense and timely drives to the basket, won 79-70 to open Conference USA play with two victories for the first time since the 1996-97 season.

“I believe in that stuff,” Tulane Coach Ed Conroy said of the historical sense of the day. “I think it does mean something to the guys. I shared with the guys last night a bio of each of the guys in that era that made the all-decade team that (were) going to be back for this game.”

So as men such as 89-year-old Warren Perkins, an All-American from the 1947-49 seasons, watched on, whippersnappers such as Kendall Timmons, Kris Richard, David Booker and Jordan Callahan did their part in the current.

“I thought Kendall in the first half played maybe his best perimeter defensive game all year,” Conroy said. “He really laid out. He was exhausted at halftime because he really played with great effort.”

The Green Wave (12-3, 2-0 in C-USA) led 35-30 at halftime and pulled away in the second half, but the first half was tightly contested, with the lead exchanging hands three times.

Each time the Mustangs (9-6, 0-1 in C-USA) hit a big basket, Tulane struck back. Richard made three 3-pointers, caught a pass from Timmons and hit a 3-pointer that gave the Green Wave a 26-24 lead with 4:09 left until halftime.

The Green Wave led by four, as Jordan Callahan stood a couple of feet inside the midcourt line, trying to set up the final play of the first half. SMU’s Jeremiah Samarrippas stole the ball and raced for a layup, cutting the Tulane lead to 32-30.

But the Green Wave had a play of its own to make before halftime. Johnny Mayhane passed to Richard, who made a 3-pointer from the left corner as time ran out.

“Whoever came open (was the target),” Richard said of the play. “I guess I was the one he threw it to. I had to pick him up and knock it down.”

Timmons also made four of five 3-point attempts.

In the second half, Callahan scored seven of his 13 points, including a timely hook shot in the lane with 3:39 to play. SMU’s Mike Walker had just connected on a 3-pointer that cut the Tulane lead to five. Callahan’s shot moved Tulane ahead 62-55, and the Mustangs didn’t get closer.

Perhaps the crowning achievement of the day was keeping Mustangs’ post player Papa Dia in check. Dia came in averaging 18.4 points and 8.6 rebounds in the past 10 games. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds, but he could not change the tide of the game. David Booker, Tulane’s forward, held his own against him with some help from teammates.

“I think we just frustrated him,” Callahan said. “He didn’t know whether we were coming or not. We stunted a lot, we jabbed at him and he got confused, and at times I guess he wanted to get the ball up. We just confused him, and it worked.”

Conroy showered compliments on the defense after the game.

“That’s the first thing he said,” Callahan said. “He said, ‘Way to execute.’ We had two days to prepare for them, and both days we came in worked hard. Coach put in the game plan, and we executed it.”

Tulane also executed at the free throw line, shooting 95.2 percent (20-of-21), tied for the fifth-best in school history. The team won its sixth consecutive game — thanks to a group effort, Richard said.

“It was a team win,” he said. “It wasn’t an individual performance that stood out,” Richard said. “The team did it. We did it together. I think that’s way better than individual accomplishments and all that.”